Summer, Strangers, and Soccer
by Nederlands
Summary: Arthur wants his summer to be the best ever, but when an incident unfolds at the local supermarket and a total stranger starts wanting to know more about Arthur and his sister, can Arthur really have the fun and happiness that he wished for? Rated T for vulgar swearing
1. Chapter 1

Today was a beautiful day. The birds were chirping, and the breeze was just right. Arthur laid awake in bed. It was the first day of summer, and there were a lot of things to do before it ended for sure. He jumped out of bed, and left his bedroom hoping to reached the kitchen table, until D.W., arms crossed, approached him.

"Mom told me that we have to go grocery shopping for her because she's busy," she yanked his hand, "So what are you waiting for, slowpoke? Dress up!" and threw him into his room. Great, the first day and we've already got a problem!

"Hold my hand, Arthur! You don't want me coming home as a mutilated corpse, do you?" The street was bustling with activity, it was normally quite still for a summer's morning like this. It must be a holiday, or some celebrity is here. Arthur was lost in his train of thought until they had reached the supermarket.

'Alright, here's the list. D.W., go do this half of the list, and I'll do the other half," Arthur got out a notepad and a pencil, "I'll copy down my half and you'll have the list, okay?" and he left for the produce aisle. I got the tomatoes and the apples. Now I just need the jelly. Arthur was walking aisle by aisle, looking like a lost child in a candy shop, though he knew D.W. would have it even worse-

Hold on a moment... I LEFT HER ALL ALONE? Arthur panicked inside, and started sweating. His mom told him not to leave D.W. alone in a large area, especially one full of people. She could be kidnapped, or even worse, killed! He grabbed the jelly his mother wanted, and ran to the aisle where D.W.'s first item was, potato chips. When Arthur caught up to the potato chip aisle, what he expected was right smack into his vision:

She was talking to a stranger.

He had almost fainted on sight. He had failed his parents, his teachers, the police, and especially D.W.! How could he be called a good big brother now because of a mistake like this! He wanted to punch that little midget boy for going near her, and save her from becoming a great punching bag. Like the world was being crushed by a meteor, Arthur sprinted towards D.W., and grabbed her arm. "I'll just buy the stuff, okay?" Arthur relaxed.

"I was just asking him where the cherries were, and then we started talking," Arthur and D.W. were walking back home. They both agreed to never speak of the incident, "But he was pretty short. I wanted to tell him that, but I didn't want him to get mad,"

"About what?"

"Dating advice."

Arthur then paused for a moment, and laughed out loud, "That is probably the most stupidest thing to ask a four-year-old! Even Binky wouldn't ask you that, even if he was that desperate!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I decided to fix up the story. The first chapter had so much potential, but when I read on, it got _really_ bad. It was basically a "Everyone must love Ronaldo or die" kind of thing. I think he may be in it, but as someone mentioned, not a main character like I intended.

* * *

The way home became serious.

"Arthur, why didn't you want me to talk to him?" D.W. was munching on a chocolate ice cream cone, "He didn't want to hurt me."

They stopped at the Sugar Bowl to get some ice cream, a friendlier way to tell D.W. what was going on currently and why she should stray from strangers.

"Well D.W., I'll explain," Arthur began, "A week ago, there was a kid who was at the park. Well, while he was playing, a man came up to him and asked him to help fix his toy. Of course, since he was five and pretty naive, he followed him to his car. The driver snatched the kid, locked all the car doors, and drove away really fast. His mom was in the bathroom, so she couldn't do anything. His parents filed an investigation once they heard about it and they found the boy gagged and tied up to a chair, next to some scalpels in the same apartment complex Francine lives in, all because he had not said no and ran away. I thought the man would've asked you the same thing and taken you too."

Then there was silence.

"Is that all true?" D.W.'s eyes started to widen. _Uh oh._ When D.W.'s eyes widen, it's a sign that she's going to start bawling her eyeballs out. Coming up next would be shaking, and then starting to slur her sentences. Or that she was scared to death.

"Yes. It was all over the news," Arthur was gobbling up his sundae if he had to catch a plane in just 5 minutes and had no time, "It's kinda surprising you never heard about it."

And then, large globs of tears started to form outside of D.W.'s eyes as she started to shake.

"Maybe it's time to go home." Arthur took D.W.'s hand and rushed out the door.


End file.
